Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hired a powerful Washington attorney to represent him.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hired influential Washington attorney George Terwilliger to represent him as a probe continues into allegations he misled lawmakers about a controversial surveillance program and illegally let politics influence hiring and firing decisions at the Justice Department.

Terwilliger tells CNN his firm is "assisting Judge Gonzales as we assist many companies and individuals when they are cooperating with investigations. It is always unfair for anyone to assume that hiring a lawyer represents anything other than common sense."

The Justice Department's Inspector General and its Office of Professional Responsibility are investigating the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year and other issues that subsequently arose from the congressional probe into them, including whether Gonzales intentionally misled Congress about the administration's warrantless surveillance program and internal opposition to it.

Gonzales has maintained he did nothing intentionally wrong in relation to those incidents.

Terwilliger was the Justice Department's No. 2 official in the early 1990s and, according to several officials, was on the short list to replace Gonzales after he resigned in August.

soundoff(31 Responses)

How dare of Mr. Gonzalez, trying to protect himself!, he knew all alone he did wrong, so pay for your mistakes and abused you have done to America. be an honest person with intergity , and I really dont believe you can attain this 2 elements, so sad!

"Democrats let it go ,,you pushed this honorable man out of office,,what do you want, his head????This man was only trying to protect the American people, you democrats make me sick…..
Posted By John Chicago : October 11, 2007 10:32 am"

Your idea of honor is attacking defenseless children with Lies (e.g. Graeme Frost). Hand the Conservative Republicans to the nearest tree!

Poor Alberto Gonzales. He tried playing hard ball with the BIG guys and became the FALL boy. We know he's not the master mind in this matter and I'm sure his attorney was hired to "assist" in keeping his mouth shut. Gonzales should have kept his moral integrity in check at any cost but no he chose to sell his soul to the devil. I know he's got to be regretful.